Credit rating is like your financial passport.
Doing standard things, like paying on time, not going over the credit limit, all help.
Having at least three trade lines so your file doesn’t appear “thin.”
A good credit score can lower the cost of loans, cards, lines and mortgages.
The cost saving is dramatic specially if you extrapolate over a long time horizon, like a mortgage.
Too many inquiries can lower the score a bit, but the calculus is pretty good and it tends to even out. The accuracy of the credit report is usually good, they depend on what the credit grantor states.
A client went over or close to the limit on all cards to pay divorce lawyers. Quite bad. We suggested getting smaller house and living in a new way. He did. So he paid all the cards off, his score WAS near 460 but soared to 620 in 2 months. His score was low because of overlimit but this problem quickly corrects. If issue is minor lates, that is a slower recovery. That takes time and thought.
Life events like divorce, illness, job loss, addiction, can lower the scores and cause issues, these can be corrected. A great falsity is once the score low it will always stay low.
NO WAY! You control your destiny.